1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to coatings for fiberglass, metal, masonry, high-density foam, painted wood and other materials used on the interior and exterior of buildings, and in particular, to textured coatings for use in such architectural applications.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is often desired to coat building surfaces to simulate limestone and precast concrete, and/or to provide a textured finish to building surfaces to visually soften the surface of otherwise hard and shiny surfaces. Well-known solutions for this problem include heavy-bodied "texture" paints and the like having large and/or heavy aggregate such as river sand or portland cement, as well as latex-based stucco finishes that must be shot through so-called hopper guns or applied using a trowel or a paint roller. Because of the weight and size of aggregate, the thickness of the medium holding the aggregate, and the manner of application (hopper gun, trowel, or roller), known prior art approaches for creating and applying textured coatings have not been able to uniformly distribute the prior art textured coatings onto fine-detail multi-profile building shapes, nor have the prior art coatings and application methods been able to achieve a fine uniform coverage having the look and feel of cut stone. Because of the substantial coating thickness that results when prior art textured coatings are trowelled, rolled, or "hopper gunned" onto a surface, fine surface details become hidden.
It is therefore desirable to have an improved textured coating and method of applying same that is able to cover fiberglass, metal, masonry, high-density foam, painted wood and other materials used on the interior and exterior of buildings providing fine uniform coverage with a durable and hard finish having the look and feel of cut stone and able to withstand years of abuse. Such an improved coating should be able to be applied using a conventional spray gun so that application of the coating can be accomplished after all building panels and trim are installed, thereby permitting on-site covering of all joints, screw heads, etc., without requiring a controlled manufacturing environment. It is further desirable that such an improved coating be provided in various colors. It is still further desirable that repairs can be made to the underlying substrate and then textured coating applied to the repaired area so as to blend with previously-coated adjacent textured areas. Still further, it is desirable to provide a textured surface coating that can be thinly applied using a spray gun so that fine surface details may be preserved.